People's Park, Banbury: lunchtime with nuthatches

Watery sunshine lifted the anticyclonic grey skies for a few hours today and tempted me across the road to People's Park in the centre of Banbury.  At least one pair of nuthatches are resident here and often easy to see.  On this occasion they were somewhat preoccupied with getting their nesting hole ready for the breeding season.  I tried to blend into the foliage of the weeping willow tree and watched the birds coming to and fo with nest lining material - seemed to be mostly leaves. 

 

 

 

 

 A pair of blue tits were also eyeing up this desirable nest site!

 

Nearby, a male great spotted woodpecker was very busy pecking away at a rotting sycamore branch as I looked up from below.

Local parks can be great places to watch and photograph birds that are normally much more shy out in the countryside.